I can't let you get away with that jibe Ronald, remember I use to audit solicitors and I know a good solicitor when I see one:
Q: "With which unwinnable case will the small firm of J. R. Jones of Ealing in SW London be forever gloriously and inextricably linked?"
...and ours is a good one.
Choosing a solicitor (or an accountant) is like ordering a tiger for your zoo. You want one that snarls and hisses and prowls and attacks and has sharp teeth. You don't want a meek tiger who says (Nogood O'Boyo style) "The rules say we've lost so we've lost".
You want one who says: "We never lose, we never give up, there's always something that can be done".
Our solicitor (Gummersalls in Epsom) took on our conveyancing at a fixed rate (£495 + VAT IIRC) back in 1999 . It soon became obvious that the whole thing was a dog's breakfast, there were four titles and a small defect in one of them which had been missed by two previous sets of solicitors. Time and again I said I'd release him from the fixed rate as the problems unravelled, but months later after days of work in came the bill: £495 + VAT.
And with it a letter: "For my own satisfaction I am going to pursue this case even though I suspect it is hopeless..." And pursue it he did, keeping us informed of the progress, until he ran up against the final brick wall.
Beat that!